The Hobbit: 6 Mis-Castings That Ruined It (And 4 That Were Perfect)

3. Martin Freeman - Bilbo

Of course.

Even before the first name was jotted provisionally on Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro's list of wanted talents - in fact, even before it was confirmed who was going to direct the adaptation of Tolkien's other most famous novel - Freeman's name was already being suggested as a solution to the "problem" of casting a young Bilbo Baggins.

His body of work to that point had been topped by his work on the British original of The Office, but he had consistently shown the kind of everyman appeal and humility that would make him ideal for Bilbo. He is an engaging actor, capable of transmitting emotion perfectly with merely an expression, and his perfect grasp of exasperation and his ever-so-British stifled manners suited Jackson's version of the character down to the ground.

As Bilbo, Freeman is rarely tested, but he is never lazy, and his work in the more demanding physical scenes showed he is capable of more than we have seen previously.